Haptic Guidance with a Soft Exoskeleton Reduces Error in Drone Teleoperation

Haptic guidance has been shown to improve performance in many fields as it can give additional information without overloading other sensory channels such as vision or audition. Our group is investigating new intuitive ways to interact with robots, and we developed a suit to control drones with upper body movement, called the FlyJacket. In this paper, we present the integration of a cable-driven haptic guidance in the FlyJacket. The aim of the device is to apply a force relative to the distance between the drone and a predetermined trajectory to correct user torso orientation and improve the flight precision. Participants (n=10) flying a simulated fixed-wing drone controlled with torso movements tested four different guidance profiles (three linear profiles with different stiffness and one quadratic). Our results show that a quadratically shaped guidance, which gives a weak force when the error is small and a strong force when the error becomes significant, was the most effective guidance to improve the performance. All participants also reported through questionnaires that the haptic guidance was useful for flight control

Wearable Technologies for Embodied Human-Robot Interaction

Robotic teleoperation is fundamental to augment the resilience, precision, and force of robots with the cognition of the operator. However, current interfaces, such as joysticks and remote controllers, are often complicated to handle since they require cognitive effort and learned skills. Wearable interfaces can enable more natural and intuitive interactions with robots, which would make robotic teleoperation accessible to a larger population of users for demanding tasks, such as manipulation or search-and-rescue. The aim of this thesis is to explore solutions to simplify our interactions with robots promoting their access to a broader range of the population. To achieve this, we are presenting a soft upper body exoskeleton, called the FlyJacket, for the bidirectional control of drones. Drones can greatly benefit us as they extend our perception and range of action. The exoskeleton controls a drone by recording torso movement and, through embedded haptic feedback devices, renders either kinesthetic guidance to improve the flight performance or tactile feedback to render the sensation of flying. We developed and tested an interface to control both a simulated and a real drone. The FlyJacket is a soft exoskeleton with arm support conceived to address the challenges of adapting to different morphologies and supporting the user during flight to prevent fatigue. We demonstrated that this novel interface allowed more consistent performance than when performing the same task with a remote controller and users felt more immersed into the flight. Interacting with a robot can be greatly enhanced by having multiple channels of sensorial feedback to increase the awareness of the operator. Information on the state of the drone can be intuitively rendered with haptic feedback. To create this bidirectional interaction with the drone, the two types of haptic feedback - kinesthetic and tactile - have been explored. Kinesthetic feedback was implemented with a cable-driven system to give guidance to the userâs torso position. Performing user studies, we could determine that the embedded guidance improved the flight performance and that a quadratically shaped force feedback curve was the most adequate profile to guide the user. We also established the minimal force difference, defined the perceived magnitude of this system and studied the learning process of users. Tactile feedback was investigated to render the sensation of flying by enhancing flight awareness, realism and immersion. To this end, we developed and embedded a new type of soft actuator that was compliant and lightweight such that it remained wearable and portable. Four devices, placed on the torso, provided feedback by compressing closed air pouches against the skin rendering the sensation of air pressure. A mechanical model and simulation of the pouch device were developed to determine appropriate parameters. We evaluated whether it conveyed useful information to the user and whether it enhanced the experience of flying. We demonstrated that users were able to understand the direction of the cues without prompting, could distinguish the cues quickly, and do so with high accuracy. The device was also used in a simulated flight task and users indicated that it increased the flight realism. We believe that the contributions of this thesis provides insights to the design of intuitive interfaces for human-robot interaction and increases their accessibility to a wider range of the population

Perception of a Wearable Haptic Feedback Device to Render the Sensation of Flight

The FlyJacket is a wearable jacket designed to allow a user to intuitively control a fixed-wing drone by moving their torso. We embedded haptic feedback into the jacket using closed inflated air pouches compressed by motors to provide haptic feedback on the torso. This haptic feedback represents the drone centripetal forces while maintaining the essential lightweight and portable qualities of the jacket. We evaluate this haptic feedback in a user study to test whether it can convey useful haptic information to the user and whether the feedback enhances the user experience of flying. Users were able to understand the direction of the cues without prompting and could distinguish directional cues from the device quickly and with high accuracy. They also described the sensation provided by the device as pleasant. The device was used in a simulated flight task and compared to flying with no haptic feedback. Users indicated that the device increased the realism of the flight, but were split on whether it improved their sense of immersion

Haptic feedback perception and learning with cable-driven guidance in exosuit teleoperation of a simulated drone

Robotics teleoperation enables human operators to control the movements of distally located robots. The development of new wearable interfaces as alternatives to hand-held controllers has created new modalities of control, which are more intuitive to use. Nevertheless, such interfaces also require a period of adjustment before operators can carry out their tasks proficiently. In several fields of human-machine interaction, haptic guidance has proven to be an effective training tool for enhancing user performance. This work presents the results of psychophysical and motor learning studies that were carried out with human subject to assess the effect of cable-driven haptic guidance for a task involving aerial robotic teleoperation. The guidance system was integrated into an exosuit, called the Flyjacket, that was developed to control drones with torso movements. Results for the Just Noticeable Difference (JND) and from the Stevens Power Law suggest that the perception of force on the users' torso scales linearly with the amplitude of the force exerted through the cables and the perceived force is close to the magnitude of the stimulus. Motor learning studies reveal that this form of haptic guidance improves user performance in training, but this improvement is not retained when subjects are evaluated without guidance

Soft haptic device to render the sensation of flying like a drone

Haptic feedback located on the torso is proposed to enhance the state awareness of a user in virtual reality or during teleoperation while leaving the hands free for manipulation and communication. We provide haptic feedback on the torso by compressing a set of closed air pouches against the skin in order to render the sensation of air pressure when piloting a drone. The pouch devices are cable-driven and integrated in a wearable soft exoskeleton, called the FlyJacket. A mechanical model and simulation of a pouch device were developed in order to determine appropriate parameters, including the air pouch inner pressure, its attachment point, and the cable position. Using the simulation results, a set of pouch devices were constructed and integrated into the soft exoskeleton on both sides of the upper chest and middle of the back. The mechanical performance of the constructed device is close to that predicted by the simulation. Application of the haptic device in a flight task in which the user controls a drone using upper body movements was demonstrated with a user study. Adding haptic feedback during a stabilization task reduced the user's workload and improved the state awareness of the user

Jacket for embodied interaction with virtual or distal robotic device

A system for interacting with a remote object comprising a wearable jacket for a user, two actuators for supporting arms of the user, motors for causing movements to at least one of a torso and the arms of the user, and sensors for measuring at least one of a force applied to the user and a position of the user, and a controller and data transmission device for communicating with the remote object

Screening of antigenic vesicular fluid proteins of Echinococcus multilocularis as potential viability biomarkers to monitor drug response in alveolar echinococcosis patients.

PURPOSE The only drugs available to treat alveolar echinococcosis (AE) are mostly parasitostatic and in many cases prescribed for life. Decision criteria for discontinuation rely on the absence of parasitic viability. The aim of the present study is to search for candidate proteins that may exhibit good potential as biomarkers for viability. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN Sixteen serum samples (five healthy controls, 11 patients with AE), are used. AE-patients are classified into three groups "Cured" (n = 2), "ABZ-responders" (n = 4) and "ABZ-nonresponders" (n = 5). Immunoreactive proteins from vesicular fluid (VF) are identified and quantified by LC-MS/MS analysis after immunoprecipitation (IP) using all 16 serum samples. RESULTS Shotgun analysis of VF lead to the identification of 107 E. multilocularis proteins. Comparative proteomics reveal nine proteins more abundant in IP eluates from ABZ-nonresponder patients (cathepsin b, prosaposin a preprotein, actin modulator protein, fucosidase alpha L1 tissue, gluthatione-S-tranferase, beta galactosidase, elongation factor 2, H17g protein tegumental antigen, and NiemannPick C2 protein). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE Detection of antibodies against these proteins by ELISA could be helpful to monitor the course of alveolar echinococcosis under albendazole (ABZ) treatment

Haptic Guidance with a Soft Exoskeleton Reduces Error in Drone Teleoperation

Haptic guidance has been shown to improve performance in many fields as it can give additional information without overloading other sensory channels such as vision or audition. Our group is investigating new intuitive ways to interact with robots, and we developed a suit to control drones with upper body movement, called the FlyJacket. In this paper, we present the integration of a cable-driven haptic guidance in the FlyJacket. The aim of the device is to apply a force relative to the distance between the drone and a predetermined trajectory to correct user torso orientation and improve the flight precision. Participants (n = 10) flying a simulated fixed-wing drone controlled with torso movements tested four different guidance profiles (three linear profiles with different stiffness and one quadratic). Our results show that a quadratically shaped guidance, which gives a weak force when the error is small and a strong force when the error becomes significant, was the most effective guidance to improve the performance. All participants also reported through questionnaires that the haptic guidance was useful for flight control